Rogaine, referred to as Regaine in the U.K., is a hair loss treat­ment prod­uct avail­able in liq­uids or foams. It con­tains minox­i­dil, a proven treat­ment for hair loss.

The prod­uct is rec­om­mended by the FDA as a hair loss treat­ment, and is given to hair trans­plant patients as a post-surgical treat­ment by hair trans­plant clin­ics. Hair trans­plant clin­ics often have access to 10% con­cen­tra­tion solu­tions, not avail­able over the counter. You can buy 5% con­cen­tra­tion Rogaine over the counter eas­ily with­out prescription.

Although avail­able for women, the weaker 2% solu­tions have been found to be inef­fec­tive in the treat­ment of hair loss. The 2% con­cen­tra­tion prod­ucts for men have been dis­con­tin­ued. Nat­ural solu­tions like Eclipta alba (Bhringaraj) have been more effec­tive than the 2% solu­tion of minoxidil.

Rogaine has been found effec­tive in the treat­ment of trac­tion alope­cia – a con­di­tion where the hair loss is caused by con­stant pulling on the hair, usu­ally as a result of cer­tain hair­styles (weav­ing, corn­rows, tight pony­tails, etc.)

For the treat­ment to be effec­tive, the pulling must be stopped, so hair must be worn in non-harmful styles for the dura­tion of the treat­ment. It can often take a min­i­mum of four months for the treat­ment to show results, and it should be con­tin­ued for at least six months.

Minox­i­dil will stim­u­late the fol­li­cles to pro­duce new hairs, and the result will often be a rever­sal of the con­di­tion. Although trac­tion alope­cia can often heal itself nat­u­rally, using Rogaine can speed up the process and pro­duce more notice­able results, or help in more seri­ous cases.

How does Rogaine work?

Minox­i­dil works by increas­ing the sup­ply of blood to the hair fol­li­cles, stim­u­lat­ing them to grow the hair. It also strength­ens exist­ing hairs, although it won’t pro­tect them from the results of pulling too much on hair and tight hair­styles. There­fore, it’s impor­tant to stick with softer styles even if you’re using Rogaine.

Rogaine side effects

Like all med­i­cines, Rogaine is not free of side effects. The most wor­ry­ing one for women is often the fact that after two to three weeks of treat­ment, hair seems to actu­ally fall out at a faster pace. This is the result of the hair fol­li­cles enter­ing the growth cycle, which can speed up the shed­ding of old hairs. This side effect is tem­po­rary and should not be a cause for worry. It means that the treat­ment is working.

“Peach fuzz” is another side effect, and the newly grown hair can often appear soft, fine and downy, rather than thick and pro­nounced. This is lso tem­po­rary, and the hair should soon become the same as your nor­mal hair. The peach fuzz effect itself will dis­ap­pear com­pletely when treat­ment is stopped.

Other side effects of Rogaine include scalp irri­ta­tion and red­ness, although these are greatly reduced when using the foam version.

Other infor­ma­tion

It’s impor­tant to thor­oughly clean your hands before and after each appli­ca­tion of Rogaine. The prod­uct pro­duces top­i­cal results – only in the area of application.

Using Rogaine will not pro­tect the hairs from future abuse. The prob­lem may still return if you con­tinue to wear your hairs in styles that cause pulling or tug­ging or return to such hair­styles after the treat­ment has finished.